Dana Point Library group protests bookstore closure

Nov. 10, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Rick Conner, manager of the Friends of the Dana Point Library bookstore, carries a sign Saturday seeking public help in reopening the store. The county closed the store Nov. 1, saying the Friends group needs a license to run it. JOSH FRANCIS, FOR THE REGISTER

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June Bauer, a board member of the nonprofit Friends of the Dana Point Library, said the group had expected to raise $12,000 to $15,000 during the holiday season through its bookstore at the library. The county shut down the store Nov. 1, saying it would likely remain closed at least until January. JOSH FRANCIS, FOR THE REGISTER

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A sign placed by Orange County Public Libraries on the door of the shut-down Friends of the Dana Point Library bookstore refers visitors to the Laguna Niguel Friends of the Library bookstore at 30341 Crown Valley Parkway. JOSH FRANCIS, FOR THE REGISTER

Rick Conner, manager of the Friends of the Dana Point Library bookstore, carries a sign Saturday seeking public help in reopening the store. The county closed the store Nov. 1, saying the Friends group needs a license to run it. JOSH FRANCIS, FOR THE REGISTER

OC Public Libraries closed the store Nov. 1 and plans to keep it shut “until OCPL is able to provide the Friends of the Dana Point Library a license for purposes of formalizing the Friends' permission to run a bookstore on county property,” according to an Oct. 29 letter to the group from Jacqueline Guzman, a deputy county counsel.

The letter says the store could reopen in January after the county Board of Supervisors votes on whether to allow the Friends to operate it. The store sells donated books at discount prices to help raise money for the library.

“I am told that no other Friends organizations are required to have licenses to operate, and we are not aware of any other county bookstores being closed like this one,” said David Darnell, attorney for the Friends. “Thus, it seems like Friends of the Dana Point Library are unfairly being singled out.”

County Librarian Helen Fried said the closure is the first of its kind. She said it occurred because OCPL has no formal agreement with Friends of the Dana Point Library.

“The license will formalize the agreement between the Friends and the library,” Fried said. She said similar license agreements will be presented to all similar groups in the county but that so far no other bookstores have been closed.

OC Public Libraries changed the locks on the doors to the Dana Point store, which is in the branch at 33841 Niguel Road, and posted a notice that the store is closed. The notice refers the public to the Laguna Niguel Friends of the Library bookstore.

“Where does the authority of the county take over the autonomy of the Friends?” Conner said. “They're overstepping their authority.”

Darnell said the closure will harm the library by cutting off the revenue from the bookstore. Bauer said the group had expected to raise $12,000 to $15,000 during the holiday season.

The Friends of the Library’s board of directors has been embroiled in a dispute with a group of former Friends bookstore managers and volunteers called Save Our Bookstore, which has been seeking to recall the entire board over the dismissals of several bookstore volunteers and other actions.

“The closure of this store seems rather arbitrary, and many are convinced that the Save Our Bookstore group is behind this,” Darnell said.

The OCPL letter, addressed to Friends board president Terry Inouye, did not mention the organization’s internal conflict in the decision to close the store, and Fried did not say it was directly related.

Paul Strauss, a leader of Save Our Bookstore, said his group had no role. “What a laugh – the belief that our group would have such influence,” he said.

The recall effort stalled in October when an Orange County Superior Court judge blocked a scheduled recall vote organized by Save Our Bookstore. The judge agreed with the board’s contention that the methods used to organize the vote violated state law and the organization's bylaws.

The regular board election is scheduled for Dec. 9. None of the current board members is running.

“We are confident that during the bookstore closure, the Friends will take advantage of the opportunity to amicably resolve their internal member conflicts,” Fried said. “After the scheduled Friends election in December, we can hopefully begin the new year with a clean slate.”

In the meantime, “people are leaving books, but there is no one here to take them,” Bauer said. “It's kind of like (the county) shot themselves in the foot.”

Darnell said he sent a letter to the county Nov. 2 seeking an immediate temporary license but that the county counsel has not responded. He said he also left several voice messages for the county libraries' lawyers but they haven't responded.

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